After selling over 100,000 digital downloads without a record label, having every single song from the last album placed on various popular television programs, and becoming the first unsigned act sold in Wal-Mart stores nationwide, one can only wonder what Five Times August will accomplish next.

With "Brighter Side," Skistimas has crafted an album of balance. Relatable catchy pop tunes without the overly produced sound that invades today's Top 40 market. The music is real and each song is its own. In the midst of an industry looking for one novelty hit after another, "Brighter Side" proves to have quality and charm. It's not just another album with two polished hit songs and ten okay fillers. This album throws away the standard formula of co-writer after co-writer, heavily produced studio tricks, and keeping to a genre specific theme.